In recent years, broadcast receivers such as televisions (TVs) and set-top boxes (STBs) have been developed which can connect to a network such as a local area network or the Internet. Such receivers are generally referred to as ‘connected’ receivers, for example a ‘connected TV’ or a ‘connected STB’. Most connected receivers also include an application portal from which a user can launch one of a plurality of applications to access online content through the network connection. For example, the user may make a selection to launch a video-on-demand (VOD) application to view online content.
The portal takes the form of a graphical user interface (GUI) which the user can navigate in order to select and launch the desired application. The portal is normally pre-installed by the receiver manufacturer. The applications accessible from the portal have been tested by the manufacturer to verify compatibility with the hardware and software environment of that particular receiver. Different receivers from different manufacturers may use completely different operating environments, including but not limited to Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Adobe Flash (registered trade mark of Adobe Systems Inc.), or Microsoft Silverlight (registered trade mark of Microsoft Inc.).
Also, broadcasting standards have been developed which enable a broadcaster to provide additional signaling in the broadcast stream to launch an application on the receiver. The application could be launched automatically using an auto-start function, or could be launched in response to user input. However, because there is no standard set of applications that will be available through different manufacturer's portals, it is not possible for the broadcaster to remotely launch an application from the application portal since the broadcaster cannot know which applications will be available. Instead, the broadcaster has to provide the application itself through the broadcast stream, or from a web server accessed using a uniform resource locator (URL) in the broadcast stream.
The inventive concept is made in this context.